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Driving forces and risk management
Citation:
Rees, G., I. Karunasagar, AND J. W. SANTO-DOMINGO. Driving forces and risk management . Chapter 4, Safe Management of Shellfish and Harvest Waters. IWA Publishing, London, Uk, , ,, (2009).
Impact/Purpose:
to share information
Description:
From a public health perspective, food safety is the overall goal and there are two distinct areas where interventions to this end can take place – either pre- or post-harvest. In pre-harvest, water quality management is the focus whereas post-harvest quality management depends on the nature of the particular processes undertaken. This monograph focuses exclusively on water quality management and pre-harvest processes. In effect, post-harvest processes are the remit of food safety and post-infection issues belong in the realm of health care and treatment. Further, in the context of water quality management, the primary risk factors are pathogens (human, animal, naturally occurring), toxic algae, and chemical contaminants. This volume concentrates on infectious disease risks posed by microbial contaminants rather than toxins. It is acknowledged that management of environmental bacterial pathogens (i.e., of non-faecal origin like Vibrio spp.) as well as algal toxins is extremely difficult as their levels are impacted by environmental factors as well as nutrient runoff. There is undoubtedly more scope for management interventions in the case of human and/or animal derived pathogens which form the focus of the monograph.
